Fragments of Memories
by water wolf 100
Summary: Axel hadn't forgotten what it was like to have a heart, but he had forgotten how much it could hurt. (Spoilers for KHII, Days, and 3D)


**I was playing KHII for the 6th time and I got to Axel's death scene (which made me cry as it always does), and later on I was looking up something about him online when I discovered the events of 3D and his role in it. I was thrilled and cried yet again. Then, the final line of this story popped into my head and I had to write it. This isn't really my best work, I just wanted to get the tag line out of my head or else it would drive me insane. So let me know what you think. Peace out.**

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Fragments of Memories

He still wasn't used to being a Somebody again. As Axel traveled among the worlds and learned to use his new Keyblade, he found constant reminders that he had a heart inside him. A heart that could feel happiness, joy, fear, excitement, and all the things he used to feel in his youth.

How long had it been since he had felt these things? The days of his wild youth seemed so far away, like another lifetime. He was a different person then. But yet, everything seemed to fall in place in his life.

The boy he met years ago, with Isa, the one with striking eyes resembling the color of the sky. He wielded a Keyblade of his own. A wooden one, but no doubt a predecessor to the real thing. The next time he witnessed the power of the Keyblade was in the hands of Roxas. He had been so unsure of himself, so timid, and vastly unaware of the power locked away deep inside him. When Roxas left, Axel lost the one person that helped him remember what he used to be like. Axel always found it easier to hold onto the memories of his past self when Roxas was with him. Perhaps that was why he forged a friendship with the young Keyblade bearer.

As days went by without Roxas, Axel found himself slipping. The understanding of his lack of existence became almost unbearable. Under the bidding of Xemnas, Axel tried to retrieve Roxas from the clutches of DiZ. He had failed, and with his failure might have been his last chance to see his best friend again. That was when he decided to go and seek out Sora. Once Sora was found, Roxas could come back.

Each member of the Organization could see Roxas within Sora, but Axel was the one who saw him the most. The smallest ticks of his facial features, the tightening grip on the Keyblade, everything Sora did mirrored Roxas. So, when it looked like he end for the Keyblade bearer in Betwix and Between Axel knew what he had to do. Even if it meant never seeing Roxas again.

Darkness was all he could see after that. A great darkness that loomed over his entire being, suffocating him. Then the dark melted away to reveal a dream. Roxas was there. He reminded him of a promise that he once made. "_I'll always be there to bring you back._"

When he awoke and started his journey, Axel was unsure of what he was looking for. Everything about his home was different. Radiant Garden was not the same, nor would it ever feel as it once had to him. While Axel had been in the darkness, the town moved on without him. Fine by him. There were so many other worlds for him to see.

That's what he did, went from world to world. He often kept to himself, observing the lives of others. He was, after all, still learning what it meant to have a heart again. It was in these observations of worlds that he witnessed the different emotions a heart could have. On rare occasions Axel even got to experience these emotions for himself.

Soon his travels took him to a place he was not expecting. A place he never had any real intention of going to. Axel found himself in a town where the sun was always setting and where the red in the sky seemed to travel for miles.

"_You see, light is made up of lots of colors. And out of all those colors, red is the one that travels the farthest_."

Axel's words to Roxas seemed so far away. Somewhere, far away, a bell tolled. Axel recalled his days on the clock tower with Roxas. Roxas and the other one. The girl, the one who ruined everything. He could see her face, but her name was still hidden from him. Part of him wanted to hate her, for ruining everything he and Roxas shared. But, another part felt a pang of guilt for thinking that about his friend. He knew what she was, but still accepted her as a friend. At the time, he thought she was even less than he was. She wasn't even a true Nobody, she had no past life. He did. That made him more than her? Right? Axel used to think so, now he wasn't so sure.

The clock tower beckoned to Axel. When he reached its peak, he stood on the ledge. It felt like he was standing on the edge of the world. Lowering himself into a sitting position, Axel gazed to his right. That was the place where Roxas should be.

With a shaking hand, Axel reached into his coat jacket and removed a small stick. Insignificant, to anyone else it would be a piece of trash. Not to Axel. The letters, which had faded over time, once read _Winner. _This ice-cream bar stick was the one gift Roxas ever gave him.

Wrapped in a piece of paper in his room, Axel didn't know what to make of it. He had just lost his best friend, but here was a small gift. A token. A sign of their friendship. Roxas would never forget their times on the clock tower.

Sitting back at that same clock tower now, all this time later, Axel placed the winner stick next to him. For a moment, in his mind, he could picture Roxas sitting there beside him. A grin was spread on his face, eyes bright with curiosity and excitement.

The image vanished and Axel was overcome with a feeling he hadn't felt since regaining his heart. Something inside his heart ached, tore at his very existence. Tears leaked from his eyes and spilled onto his lap. This feeling, he had a name for it. It was grief.

Axel hadn't forgotten what it was like to have a heart, but he had forgotten how much it could hurt.


End file.
